Album Club - Week 113: 01.10.2013: U2 - The Joshua Tree. (1987)

[Album Club]

Alex(_UK) has given us the album for this week - a monster seller, with 25 million sales to its name. Cheers Alex!


U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)







I had to laugh when this thread appeared, knowing that I had already chosen this classic rock album as my latest album club choice... Well, by the looks of it I should do better than the last one, which was swamped with apathy...!

So, U2... I have no intention of referring to the politics, or whether Bono is a cock - I'm just interested about the music. And at the time of this, their 5th studio album, most of that hadn't really happened. Even hindsight can't change what for me was a landmark album - when U2 moved from being a great band, to probably the biggest band in the World at that time.

Unless you're a hermit living in a cave you must have heard at least a couple of the lead tracks - but for me every one is a killer, not filler. I was lucky enough to see them twice on the tour of the album - the first at Wembley Stadium probably still stands as the best gig I have ever seen. I was 18, drove to London in my little Renault 5 with my best mate, watched the gig and we felt so awake we drove into central London for a night time tour of the sites - drove back to Norwich just in time for a quick shower and straight to work! (Unfortunately hitting a barn owl on the M11 on the way home - something I still feel terrible about over 25 years later!)

This really is an album that has to be played as an album should - start at the beginning - finish at the end. From the very synth intro of Where The Streets Have No Name the album then follows with the two other big singles -I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and With or Without You - 3 classics. Bullet the Blue Sky follows- one of my favourite guitar-led tracks ever. I could go on - the best bet is to listen for yourself, and if it is new to you or not been heard in many a year, try and remember the Album Club doctrine of "listen without prejudice"

Interesting fact - released on the 9th March 1987, this album was the first new release available on vinyl, cassette and CD at the same time. Personally I'd go for the vinyl - but the 20 year anniversary Deluxe CD box-set is superb - one of the rare times when a "Deluxe" edition is well worth it in my opinion, with a 2nd CD and DVD.